References
- Bodies of evidence:
from the Channel 4 TV programme - Radiocarbon dating:
the Dating Game interactive from NOVA
Piltdown man
One way to work out the age of some fossils today is by using radiocarbon dating. Click on the picture to find out how scientists would use radiocarbon dating to age the Piltdown Man remains today.
1. Dating the bones | Radiocarbon accelerator
Radiocarbon dating facility at the University of Oxford
During the lifetime of an animal, radiocarbon from the atmosphere builds up in its bones. When it dies, the radiocarbon slowly decays away at a steady rate. This radiocarbon dating laboratory at the University of Oxford could measure how much radiocarbon is left in Piltdown Man's bones in order to work out the amount of time that has passed since he died. Palaeontologists at the Natural History Museum often send bones to this laboratory in order to get an accurate measure of their age.
